Earlier this morning, Amazon revealed that it was laying off several hundred employees across Prime Video and Amazon Studios as part of a review of its business.Details have emerged about the cuts, which were described by one source close to the company as a “bloodbath”. Senior execs let go include Nancy Cotton, Arturo Interian, Marcy Kaplan, Chris Castallo and Uri Fleming across different divisions.Most of the exits are a result of the integration of Lindsay Sloane’s MGM Scripted Television team alongside MGM+ and the Barry Poznick-led MGM Alternative TV under Chris Brearton, VP, Corporate Strategy, Prime Video and Studios. Sloane and Poznick’s teams will continue to work closely with the studios teams in developing for Prime Video and also will continue to produce for outside networks and streamers.Also impacted by layoffs in a consolidation move are multiple other Amazon MGM Studios teams, including Studio Marketing, Business Operations (Production, Post & Business Affairs) and Amazon MGM Studios Distribution teams, as well as the company’s Local Originals business.Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke and Brearton just addressed the organizational changes and the layoffs in internal memos, also revealing a consolidation of the Amazon Studios and MGM theatrical distribution units.The goal for the team led by Sloane, who took up the role of EVP, MGM Scripted TV in November 2022, is that the division will be able to produce more premium series in the vein of Netflix’s Wednesday, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and FX’s Fargo, for third party broadcasters as well as series for MGM+.Michael Wright will continue as head of MGM+ and will report to Brearton as a part of the newly created group.However, Nancy Cotton who is EVP, Head of Scripted Programming for MGM+, has been affected. She joined the company in 2018 when MGM+ was known as Epix and was boss Michael Wright’s first major executive hire. She has been responsible for series such as Godfather of Harlem, Julian Fellowes’ Belgravia, Ed Burns’ Bridge and Tunnel and Adrien Brody-fronted Chapelwaite.Arturo Interian, EVP, Current Scripted Programming, who has been with the company since 2019, Marcy Kaplan, Head of Production for MGM+, who joined in October 2022, and Rob Hochberg, VP of Development & Production, Scripted TV at MGM, who has been there 13 years are also understood to be affected. Kaplan is understood to be staying for a bit to help with continuity.Other impacted scripted execs are said to include Amy Suh, Senior Development Executive, Co-Productions, Amazon MGM Studios, Vanessa Martinez – Creative Executive, First Look & Overall Deals, and Sonya Strich – Development Executive, Genre Series at Amazon Studios.Chris Castallo, who has been with the company since 2018, is also leaving. He joined the company as Head of Unscripted Television for Amazon Studios but last year, we revealed that he was moving to the streamer’s scripted division.Elsewhere, on the unscripted side, we gather most of Amazon Studios’ U.S. unscripted programming team is safe, although Uri Fleming, Head of Business Affairs, Unscripted is affected. Fleming has been with the company for seven years.Internationally, the cuts seem to have affected Amazon Studios’ Canadian team with a number of executives let go. International scripted teams are also thought to be impacted.Deadline understands that many of the employees affected turned up or logged on to work this morning to an email informing them of the layoffs and that there is an “HR video call” later this morning that will reveal severance packages.
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